Last night as I was falling asleep, I kept getting tickled as I thought about my moment of insanity yesterday. I kept laughing but was trying not to laugh out loud because Andy was falling asleep. So I just laid there shaking like a little kid who's trying not to laugh out loud in church. Oh, thank you, Jesus, for times when we can laugh at ourself!
This morning I was reading a book called Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas. Great book, even if you're a busy mom who only gets to read about a page and a half per sitting. Well, the page and a half I read this morning hit me right between the eyeballs.
Thomas wrote that, as parents, most of our prayers for our kids tend to fall into two categories: "God, protect them." and "God, change them." In essence, God please keep them alive because we'd like to have them around for a while, but we don't really want them quite the way that they are. Guilty as charged.
It's not that we shouldn't pray for those things for our children, but if we ONLY pray those things for our children our prayers can fall into a negative thought pattern. The first prayer for protection can lead us down a path of fear. The second prayer for change can lead us down a path of negativity and a critical spirit.
So, Thomas suggested adding a third type of prayer. The prayer of thanksgiving. By continually thanking God for very specific qualities we see in our children and for the ways we see Him at work in their hearts, it makes us enjoy and appreciate our kids more. We see anew what a privilege it is to be their parents instead of allowing it to feel like a burden.
I loved this quote:
This morning I was reading a book called Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas. Great book, even if you're a busy mom who only gets to read about a page and a half per sitting. Well, the page and a half I read this morning hit me right between the eyeballs.
Thomas wrote that, as parents, most of our prayers for our kids tend to fall into two categories: "God, protect them." and "God, change them." In essence, God please keep them alive because we'd like to have them around for a while, but we don't really want them quite the way that they are. Guilty as charged.
It's not that we shouldn't pray for those things for our children, but if we ONLY pray those things for our children our prayers can fall into a negative thought pattern. The first prayer for protection can lead us down a path of fear. The second prayer for change can lead us down a path of negativity and a critical spirit.
So, Thomas suggested adding a third type of prayer. The prayer of thanksgiving. By continually thanking God for very specific qualities we see in our children and for the ways we see Him at work in their hearts, it makes us enjoy and appreciate our kids more. We see anew what a privilege it is to be their parents instead of allowing it to feel like a burden.
I loved this quote:
I want my children to think of me as their chief encourager, apart from the Holy Spirit. I desire that, regardless of how the world receives them, they will know that at least two people-- their mother and father-- will always delight in them. I pray that they believe without a single doubt that raising them has been one of the greatest blessings God could ever have given us.Father, forgive me for ever making my children feel like they are a burden or a nuisance. May the attitude that I have toward them been one of delight, joy, and gratitude!
1 comment:
In. Tears.
Bless you, Stacie. Thanks to an awesome God who keeps speaking to me through you... (oh, and your husband, too--but mostly you!)
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